Netanyahu vows ‘strong, swift’ response to attacks, calls to arm more civilians

“Whoever tries to harm us – we will harm him, and those who help him.”

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night vowed a “strong, swift, precise” response to the deadly terror attacks in Jerusalem, and proposed stripping Arab-Israeli attackers of their social security benefits as well as arming more Israeli civilians.

“Whoever tries to harm us – we will harm him, and those who help him,” Netanyahu said at the start of an emergency meeting of the security cabinet.

“We will seal and demolish terrorists’ houses in an expedited fashion, in order to exact an additional price from those who supported terrorism. This process already started yesterday and is in progress,” Netanyahu said.

The first attack saw a Palestinian terrorist killing seven people, including children, as they were leaving Shabbat prayers at a synagogue in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Neve Yaakov on Friday night.

The second occurred the morning after, when a 13-year-old Palestinian terrorist opened fire on a father and son, severely injuring them.

Netanyahu sent his “heartfelt condolences” to the families of those murdered in the “heinous and terrible attack,” noting that it took place on International Holocaust Day.

He praised police and Israeli security forces for their “determined and swift action,” in addition to the “bravery shown by ordinary citizens” who shot the terrorists.

The cabinet discussed expediting the procedure by which Israelis can receive gun licenses as well as the option of nixing national insurance benefits from the family members of terrorists, who have Israeli citizenship or residency rights.

In the wake of the attacks, Israeli Police Commissioner Kobi Shabtai called on Israelis with firearm licenses to carry their guns.

The IDF on Saturday deployed three more battalions in Judea and Samaria.